Splatter: on FILM

REVIEW in HAIKU:
Hanks’ Fred is spot on
two hours free counseling
With Mr Rodgers

REVIEW:
Get ready for the gut punch you never thought you needed. A kids show with a Seinfeldian slow-talker who changes his shoes a lot can’t possibly be life-giving, right? It’s almost as though you’re doing some pre-therapy during those oblivious childhood years as Mr Rogers subliminally offers acute preparation for the hardships of life. Divorce. Death. Conflict. Racial tensions. Forgiveness. He never shied away from hard topics. Neither does this real film covering a real article written by a journalist who meant to expose the mean side of Fred Rogers, digging at the alleged sharp-shooter. Instead, that journalist is forced to confront his life tragedies and forgive the man he blames: his own father. Daddy issues run deep.

Rogers is not the main character, but his words and attentive aid for the man trying to smear him become a catalyst for many rescued relationships. That’s what the puppets and the trolley and the fish tank and the shoes were all about: healing.

Go experience your own healing, as Tom Hanks masterfully embodies all of the tension that is getting close enough to others to hurt with them, to pray for them, and to maybe help them find their hearts again.

RATING: A (A must-see, A tear-jerker, A timeless tribute)